


Not in the fine print

by daisybelle



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 16:23:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8899156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisybelle/pseuds/daisybelle
Summary: Written for the following prompt; Steve visits Tony in Stark Industries with a bouquet and an invitation to a lunch date. Story/fanart in POV of a Stark Industries Employee looking at their relationship.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mushroom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mushroom/gifts).



Zola was pretty sure it started the day Jamie came into her office to pick her up for lunch. There was nothing unusual about it, down to the part where Zola just had to finish this email until she was ready to leave. So when her office door opened she barely took the time to look up.

“Oh, it’s you “, she just acknowledged her friend and looked back at the screen. “Sorry, I still need a moment, I got to finish this.”

“Take your time,” Jamie answered dreamily, “I’m admiring the view.”

Zola frowned slightly while typing furiously. Admittedly the view from her office was better than the one from the R&D floor, mainly because her office now was higher and so she could actually view over parts of Manhattan, but basically all there was to see were other buildings. Not that she could actually afford to watch out of her windows, since she was busy finishing her old projects from R&D next to her new ones on the executive floor. With a final click she finished her email and sent it to one of the engineers, before she looked up.

Interestingly enough, Jamie was staring out of her office door.

“You know that you’re not looking out of the window?” She asked, starting to grab her things and put on her coat.

“Told you, I’m admiring the view,” she sighed. “Steve Rogers is really a sight to behold.”

“Is he here again?” Zola was surprised. “I thought I saw him just yesterday.”

“Well, if this wasn’t Steve Rogers, then somebody should introduce me to his Doppelganger.”

With a wistful sigh Jamie finally turned around. “So, he’s here regularly?”

“Yes, every other day,” Zola confirmed.

“You know, if I’d known about those perks of the executive floor, I would have fought you harder for this promotion.” They both knew this wasn’t true, Jamie had no patience whatsoever for the bureaucracy that the executive floor required.

“But he also came to the R&D floor,” Zola pointed out.

“Only when Mr. Stark was there. And usually after hours. And here …” she gesticulated in the direction of the door “… here you can see him every day.” She sighed again. “Too bad he’s taken.”

“What do you mean, he’s taken?” Zola hadn’t heard anything like that. Although admittedly she was usually pretty late on picking up gossip.

“He and Mr. Stark.” Jamie sounded as if it was obvious.

“They are not a couple,” Zola protested. “They are just eating lunch together.”

“Sure, lunch,” Jamie acquiesced with an undertone.

“Yes, I have seen them.”

“You have seen them?” Jamie raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, sometimes I have to bring him plans, especially since Morgan and he don’t seem too compatible. You’ve heard what happened in the meeting with Johnson.”

“I’ve heard he applied for the job in the archives,” Jamie contributed.

“Oh god, I wouldn’t want to work there,” Zola shuddered. “Anyway, as I was saying when I go in there they are always sitting on the sofa and simply eating and talking.”

“Well, of course, when you interrupt them continually I would also be careful.”

“Right, because Mr. Stark is known to be careful. Besides his office has a lock and let’s not forget his AI. I think if anyone would succeed in being undisturbed in his lunch break it would be him.”

With a nod Jamie acknowledged that when both their phones suddenly gave a ring.

“It’s Ori. He is asking where we are.”

 

* * *

 “So what took you so long?“ Ori asked. They were sitting in their favorite deli, just around the corner from SI and were enjoying their meal.

“Zola had to finish something.” Jamie complained. “You know, that she is never on time.”

“Hey, you were enjoying ‘the view’,” Zola retorted.

“’The view’?” Ori gave them a dubious look. Originally from Hawaii, he continually complained about hideous buildings as well as the lack of palms, beach, and surf.

“Captain America,” Zola explained.

Ori’s frown cleared up. “Oh yeah, I’d enjoy that view as well. Too bad he is taken.”

“He is not,” Zola protested. “I’m not having this discussion again.”

“She doesn’t believe that he is dating Mr. Stark,” Jamie explained in a conspirative whisper.

“Of course they are,” Ori answered affronted. “Haven’t you watched them?”

“Yes, and there was nothing suggesting that they are a couple.”

Speechless Ori turned to Jamie.

“I know, I know. Believe me I know. For some reason she can’t see the sexual tension between the two.”

“Or the adoring gazes.” He added.

“The smiling.”

“The touching.”

“The rescuing.”

“The swooning.”

“You are messing with me,” Zola accused them.

“We are not.” Ori said.  “Just watch one interview with them. My grand-parents also have those stupid smiles when they talk about each other but they have been married for 50 years. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are totally gone for each other. I bet you.”

“I’m not betting on other people’s love life.” Zola explained.

“Afraid you’d lose?”

“It’s just …,” she hesitated. “You really think they are a couple?”

“Yes.” Both Ori and Jamie stated with conviction.

“Actually, they are not,” a voice from the table next to them announced.

When they turned to look at its owner, Zola could feel her jaw drop and out of the corner of her eye she saw Jamie and Ori doing the same. Next to them sat Black Widow, Clint Barton and Sam Wilson.

She was pretty sure that the three of them were equally panicking right now. The Avengers had just caught them gossiping about Captain America and Iron Man. Who was their boss. She was sure that this was the definition of not good.

“Don’t panic,” Natasha Romanov advised. It didn’t help.

“Yeah, don’t panic,” Clint Barton agreed. That didn’t help her either.

But apparently it had been enough for Ori to recover.

“You are Nat ... I mean Ms. Roman … I mean Ms. Black Widow. It’s a real honor, I’m a big fan.“ He stood up to shake her hand.  Black Widow took it and allowed the shake.

“How do you know that they are not a couple?”

“Oh my god, Jamie, stop!” Once again Zola was thankful for her dark skin, at least her embarrassment wouldn’t be that obvious. Then she caught Barton smirking at her. Or maybe it would. To spies. And anybody knowing her.

“You know that we are actually good at reading people. Since our lives kind of depend on this.” Romanov smiled. “They are still in the pining stage.”

“That’s pathetic,” Ori said.

“We know. We are already trying to come up with plausible scenarios to lock them in a cupboard,” Wilson laughed.

“You are the one looking for plausible and realistic. I would just shove them in there.”

“As you can see Clint is not for subtlety,” Romanov stated. “But more important, there is a betting pool. If you want to join?”

“Really, you have a betting pool on the love life of your team mates?” Zola couldn’t help but ask.

“You wouldn’t believe how boring the life of a superhero is,” Barton sighed dramatically.

Wilson took out his phone. “So you wanna pick a date?”

“I take 50 on the 25th.”

“Is noted. Anybody else?”

“30 on the 23rd,” Jamie stated. Wilson smiled and tapped away.

“Ms. Robinson?” He addressed her. She probably shouldn’t be surprised that they knew her name. It was still unsettling.

“No, I’m … I’m not playing.”

“Oh good.” That was Romanov. “Then you can tell us if there are significant changes.”

“How would she contact you?” Ori asked. “She doesn’t have your phone number.”

Zola felt the vibration of her phone. Apparently she had the number now.

 

* * *

Zola looked up when there was a knock on her door. Kevin Miller stood in front of her, waving some documents at her.

“Can I help you?”

“Do you know where Mr. Stark’s assistant is?”

She suppressed her sigh. He wasn’t the first to ask for him and at the moment it looked as if a sign ‘Morgan is gone, there is no replacement’ might actually be a good idea.

“Changed the department. Replacement still needs to be found.” She answered shortly.

"Oh,“ he deflated. "I need to get those to Mr. Stark.“

“Just knock on his door and give them to him,” Zola advised with a hint of impatience.

“But …” He looked helplessly out of her door.

“Really, it’s that easy. Walk to the door, knock, and lay them on his desk.”

“No, I can’t … I mean … He is Tony Stark …”

“He is just human,” she tried to explain, but from the look on his face it didn’t work. He still had the star struck look on him that all new engineers had until they had to work close to Mr. Stark. Then they were still in awe of his genius, but much braver in their personal contact. She had seen it enough times not to recognize the pattern. But right now, she didn’t have the time to work through this pattern.

“Look, he is on his lunch break with Steve Rogers …”

“He is on a lunch date, then I can’t interrupt them.” Miller stared at her with a shocked expression.

Zola resisted the temptation to bang her head against her desk.

“It’s fine,” she insisted.

“No, it’s not.” His voice sounded scandalized.

She looked at him for a second until she surrendered.

“Okay, I can’t do this much longer, I have work to do. Just give me those damn papers and I will get them to him.”

“Really?” Miller sounded unbelieving.

“Yes, really.” She had given up on niceties to get rid of him.

“Okay then. So those are the plans for the …”

“I can read,” she interrupted him. “And I’m pretty sure, Mr. Stark can as well. Just give them to me, I don’t have the whole day.”

He handed them over and left her office with a cheerful ‘Thanks’.

Shaking her head she looked after him, before she decided that she had already lost her flow and needed a short break anyway. She stood up, smoothed down her dress, before she headed out of her office. Morgan’s desk stood strangely empty in front of Mr. Stark’s office, only the telephone left on it. Zola could see the lights of different extensions blinking. Taking a deep breath, she hesitated a second before she knocked on the door, shaking the head over herself. Just because Ori and Jamie – and the Avengers apparently her mind unnecessarily added – thought that Mr. Stark and Captain Rogers were an item, didn’t mean that it was true. She waited until she heard an affirmative noise and then opened the door.

And stopped petrified in the door, unable to stare at anything than the scene on the couch.

They had been kissing. Rather passionately if she was any judge. Steve Rogers leant over Stark who lay on his back on the sofa. One of Stark’s hands was in Roger’s hair, she suspected the other clutching at Roger’s shirt. At least both of them were still clothed. They both looked at her with different mixtures of shock and embarrassment (Rogers) respectively amusement (Stark). As if the position on the couch hadn’t been clear enough, their red and swollen lips screamed ‘We had just kissed’.

Zola had no idea how long they stared at each other before Mr. Stark’s voice broke the spell.

“Ms. Robinson, anything I can do for you?“

Rogers carefully sat up, pulling Stark also in a vertical position.

“I just wanted to bring you these.“ She awkwardly raised the papers. “From Kevin Miller,” she added as an explanation.

“Just put them on my desk, I will look over them.”

“Yeah, sure.“ She stumbled through the room and laid the papers on the desk.

“I’m just …“ She pointed to the door, but before she could make her escape, Mr. Stark hold her back.

“Ms. Robinson.”

She didn’t turn but instead stared desperately out of the open door.

“You are not working for R&D anymore. Let them bring their stuff directly to me.” Stark said with a soft voice.

“Yes, sir.”

She risked a look back and his eyes were full of warmth.

“Is that all, Mr. Stark?”

A wistful smile appeared on his face.

“That would be all, Ms. Robinson.”

She had enough dignity not to run out of his office. But when she was in her own, she cursed the glass door. Right now she would have preferred a wooden door to hide behind. Or at least be invisible.

 

* * *

After a short night Zola arrived at the office. On her desk lay the latest noise-cancelling headphones from the Stark line which would only be released at the beginning of the following year and a simple white card with the initials T.S.

For a moment she was alternating between anger and feeling ridiculous. Did Mr. Stark think she could be easily bought? Never mind, that she had already started saving her SI credits to get this very model the next year. And she knew of course that she was being ridiculous. Yes, she walked in on her boss making it out with his ... partner or whatever he would call him. But she had knocked and he could have easily locked the door. But they were Iron Man and Captain America. It just felt different.

She let herself drop in her seat and stared at the card. It wasn't saying sorry. She turned it around. Nothing.  

A knock on her door interrupted her brooding.

"Can I come in?" Steve Rogers asked, in his hand a lovely bouquet of sunflowers.

"Yes, of course."

It took him two steps to stand before her desk. It felt weird remaining seated, so she stood up, feeling completely awkward.

"Those are for you," Rogers said, almost shoving the flowers to her. She could see him blush and thought about the curse of a fair skin before she remembered her manners.

"Thank you, they are lovely," she stammered.

"Natasha told me that they are your favorites."

'How on earth did Natasha Romanov know her favorite flowers?', she wondered. Apparently too long, since Rogers offered an explanation.

"I mean Natasha Romanov, Black Widow."

"Yeah, I know I've met her."

"Oh."

She took her time admiring the flowers in her hand, waiting for him to come up with an explanation.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday," he finally said.

Her head flew up. He looked at her with an intense gaze.

"That's really not necessary."

"Yes it is," he argued.

"I should have waited a moment longer," she offered.

"We could have locked the door," he countered easily.

"Yes, you should have."

Her outburst seemed to surprise him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean ... I mean it's lovely … you and Mr. Stark and …,” Zola gesticulated wildly, “congratulations ... I just wasn't expecting it. I mean I probably should have … with how everybody is talking about you two, but I haven't and now it's awkward. And why couldn’t you just lock the door or go somewhere private. It’s not like the whole tower belongs to Mr. Stark. And I still have to tell my friends about it and I don’t want to. But Black Widow also expects me to say something. And they were betting on you. I mean I wasn’t betting, that seems strange but everybody else was better. And all the others never want to go to Mr. Stark’s office when you are there. Did I tell you that I have to tell Black Widow about you two? She will probably want to know why I didn’t tell her sooner. She is terrifying. Oh god, I'm babbling," she realized and closed her mouth.

"There is a bet?" Rogers asked. He sounded amused.

"Yes," she confirmed warily.

"Who is in it?" He still sounded amused, but there was a hint of steel in his voice that made it clear why he was leader of the Avengers.

"I'm not really sure," she answered cautiously, "some people from SI and some Avengers."

"Barton?"

"Yeees." She answered slowly.

"Wilson?"

She nodded.

"Widow?"

She nodded again.

"I will tell them myself.” He decided and smiled at her. “If anybody gives you grief, just tell me. And believe me,” he added, blushing slightly, “we will lock the door next time."

"Thank you." She smiled weakly.

When he left her office she dropped back in her chair. God, she needed a coffee.

 

* * *

“Where have you been yesterday? You didn’t answer my texts.”

Zola sighed. Of course Jamie wouldn’t let her get away with just disappearing after work.

“I just wanted to go home.”

There was a small chance that Jamie would accept this.

“Why?”

Apparently not.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Jamie looked at her inquiringly then sat down in her visitor chair.

“Want to talk about the flowers?”

Zola looked back at her.

“It was an apology?” She offered.

“Must be something big, they are lovely.”

Jamie bent forward to smell them, before she inquired “So, who is the guy?”

“Why do you think it’s a guy?” Zola was curious.

“Women usually don’t mess up this bad.”

Zola rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I know. But as far as I know you are currently single. So name the lady and I’ll be quiet.”

Zola hesitated for a second.

“They are from Steve Rogers.”

Disbelief colored Jamie’s face.

“Steve Rogers? As in Captain America. We are talking about this Steve Rogers?”

“Yes.”

“What did he do to you?” Jamie’s tone sounded menacing.

Zola laughed at Jamie’s expression, apparently ready to get back at Captain America for doing something to her friend. It made her feel lighter.

“He didn’t do anything to me.” That at least was true.

“Zola,” Jamie warned.

“He didn’t do anything to me. Really, I swear.”

“Come on, tell me while we are still young and beautiful.”

“Okay,” Zola agreed, but still hesitated a moment. Jamie was glaring at her. “I walked in on him and Mr. Stark kissing.”

“No!” Jamie almost shouted and jumped out of the chair.

“I don’t understand why you are so surprised. You are the one that insisted that they were in love with each other.”

“Yeah, but now you are saying that they really are. That’s great. Oh god, I have to tell Ori. I wonder who got the pool…” She looked up from her phone. “Wait. I never got a notification that the bet is over. You didn’t tell anyone.”

“Whom should I tell?”

“Black Widow.” The ‘duh’ was audible. “She gave you her number.”

“Steve Rogers said he would tell them. I mean it’s his news.”

“You are too noble for your own good,” Jamie grumbled before she plopped down on the chair again.

“So, I wanna hear all the details.”

Zola felt heat rising in her cheeks.

“Wait is this the reason why you didn’t answer my texts yesterday? I’m revoking your best friend rights.”

“If I tell you tonight, will I get those rights back?”

“Only if you are paying.”

“Deal.” Zola said.

“Okay, I call Ori.”

 

* * *

It wasn't her first aftermath after the Avengers had to fight some weird-ass baddie in New York, but it was still strange to return to her office in Avengers Tower. The building obviously had taken some hits, but it still was structurally sound. And on her floor there were just little signs that something had happened - one shattered window, some paper lying around. Of course the view outside was another story. Zola could see destruction and burn marks, but since there had been no casualties she tended to consider them just cosmetic damage.

There was just one major thing wrong with the tower - Jarvis was still offline. Apparently yesterday's bad guys had gotten one lucky hit on a critical spot in the tower and now the whole building struggled with electronics. Like the lifts that got stuck all day.

For a moment she was tempted just to ignore the lift that was somewhere between her floor and the one below and take the stairs. But a strange sound from the elevator convinced her otherwise. Apparently someone was caught in there. She hastily returned to her office to get her emergency tools and started working. The door was easily opened and the painful moans were now louder. She couldn’t make out anything distinctive, but it definitely didn’t sound good.  

"Just a moment," she shouted down before she started working on the panel to override the electronic control system. It didn't take her very long - Stark loved clean codes and panels - to get the lift working again. Since she couldn't see what was wrong with it, she opted to get it up in slow motion, making sure that none of the sensors showed any indication of trouble.

Finally the lift was up. She opened the door and for a moment it felt like a déjà vu. In front of her, Tony Stark and Captain Rogers apparently very enthusiastically confirmed that they were still alive. And they hadn’t noticed her yet. A passionate sound threw her out of her reverie and she hastily took the blocks away that held the door open, watching them closing. Zola leant on the panel next to them and began sliding down the wall until she sat on the floor.

She thanked god, that the floor was still empty, but couldn’t help but wonder, why did those things only happen to her?

 

* * *

A few weeks later she saw Stark and Rogers leaving Stark's office. Rogers had one arm around Stark's  waist and she could see them smile happily at each other. She looked after them until they disappeared behind the closing lift doors. She was about to turn back to her office, when a hand pushed between the closing doors and Tony Stark looked out again.

“Ms. Robinson?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

"Would you be interested in this desk?" He pointed to the empty one in front of his office.

She looked at it as if she had never seen it before and then back to her boss.

"Why?"

"Well, you are capable of opening up a lift, discretion, and quick thinking." He smirked, ignoring Rogers' embarrassed sound. "I think you might survive me a little longer than most of the other candidates."

“I’ll think about it. Would this be all, Mr. Stark.”

“That would be all, Ms. Robinson. I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

Smiling Zola went into her office and called Jamie.


End file.
